Tag: multicultural

Isn’t it obvious by Rachel Runya Katz (Fiction)

Yael: public school librarian, runs a queer teen book club, podcasts on books that should be banned (she is highly opinionated), searches for the right antipsychotic. Ravi: part-Trinidadian social media designer and tech wizard who uprooted his life to help his brother care for his young daughter. The opening scene in the book? Where the two “sort of” meet? Masterfully done and priceless.

It’s a mix of “you’ve got mail” and “enemies to lover” tropes immersed in a multi-racial, queer, social media saturated situation. Great dialog, fun epistolary (email based) segments that perfectly recreate the excitement of slowly emerging emotions, interesting characters who are both completely foreign to me and surprisingly relatable and likable. I enjoyed getting to know them, though I doubt I would have had any opportunity to do so in real life.

I liked that the book felt like a story, not an agenda. The characters spent more time trying to make things better and not being confrontational and argumentative (although snide comments were obviously both allowed and encouraged). I liked the phrase “competency crush,” which I hadn’t heard before (but which I have a lot of). I generally enjoyed it and picked up several new ways of looking at things.

BUT — some bizarre (to me) nasty asides about a couple of my favorites. Ray Bradbury racist and homophobic? I’ve read everything the man has ever written and can’t think of anything that would earn him those epithets. The author of the Five Love Languages? The ONLY self-help book I’ve found illuminating and helpful? Katz writes: “the guy who wrote the love languages book is actually an intensely conservative Christian, who basically thinks the solution to all marital problems is to conform to gender roles.” I have no idea about Chapman’s background or opinions of gender roles, but there is nothing in the book that suggests Katz’ opinion. For me this smacks of labeling anyone negatively if they don’t completely adhere to your way of thought. Still enjoyed the book, but those barbs hurt and made me wonder at a generation so willing to toss aside a whole person’s work because someone tossed an unpopular label on them.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on October 21st, 2025.

The Matchmaker’s List by Sonya Lalli

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing Group for an advance reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion. Book to be released on Jan. 22, 2019.

Writing: 4/5 Plot: 3.5/5 Characters: 4/5

Women’s fiction pairing romcom humor with a smart, capable, protagonist. Complex themes with authentic resolutions. Multi-cultural and sexual diversity interest.

29 year-old Raina Anand is under constant pressure from her beloved Nani to get married. Her best friend is about the tie the knot and the close knit Indian community in her Toronto suburb is all geared up to help her follow suit. However, Raina is keeping a shameful secret — she is still in love with the man she left (in another country) 2 years ago. In order to protect this secret, she allows her Nani to believe she is gay — with broad and surprising consequences.

This is not your typical romcom. There are no firemen, no Fabios flexing muscles, and no ditzy but lovable blondes prepared to make some man very happy. The story continually veers off into unexpected territory and allows the main character to experience real emotional growth while trying to find her way in the world. Opening on Raina’s 29th birthday, the narrative carries through to her 30th, interspersed with reverse-order flashbacks to previous memorable birthdays. Her family is not typical (is anyone’s?). Half Indian, half caucasian, she was raised by her grandparents and only rarely saw her mother who bore her when only 16. But even this is not exactly as it seems — there is depth and nuance in this story.

There is a strong theme of sexual orientation diversity — portrayed in an interesting way because while our first person narrative protagonist is not gay herself, this “small” white lie highlights the clash of tradition and modernism simmering beneath the surface of her small, tight-knit, community.

Fun, witty, writing. Well structured with good messages about diversity, values, and the danger of letting shame drive you into making bad decisions.